Determination of the residue levels of nicarbazin and combination nicarbazin-narasin in broiler chickens after oral administration

PLoS One. 2017 Jul 27;12(7):e0181755. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181755. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

The depletion times of the anticoccidial nicarbazin administered individually and of nicarbazin and narasin administered in combination were evaluated by determining the presence and levels of 4,4'-dinitrocarbanilide (DNC), the marker residue for nicarbazin, and narasin residues in the muscle tissues of broiler chickens subjected to a pharmacological treatment. A high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method was used. The results showed the presence of all anticoccidial residues; however, the DNC levels were higher when the nicarbazin was administered individually than when it was used in association with narasin throughout the experimental period. After six days of withdrawal, the DNC level following nicarbazin administration alone was lower than the maximum residue level (MRL) of 200 μg kg-1. However, when the nicarbazin was co-administered with narasin, the concentrations of DNC were lower than the MRL after four days of withdrawal. These results may be justified because the dosage of nicarbazin, when administrated individually, is greater than when it is used in combination with narasin. The levels of narasin were lower than the MRL of 15 μg kg-1 throughout the evaluation period. It was concluded that nicarbazin is rapidly metabolized from the broiler muscles up to six days of withdrawal since the DNC levels were lower than the maximum residue level (MRL) and the concentrations of narasin were lower than the MRL throughout the evaluation period.

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Animals
  • Chickens
  • Coccidiostats / administration & dosage
  • Coccidiostats / pharmacokinetics*
  • Drug Combinations
  • Drug Residues
  • Food Safety
  • Nicarbazin / administration & dosage
  • Nicarbazin / pharmacokinetics*
  • Pyrans / administration & dosage
  • Pyrans / pharmacokinetics*

Substances

  • Coccidiostats
  • Drug Combinations
  • Pyrans
  • Nicarbazin
  • narasin

Grants and funding

Funding was provided by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), the Colegiado de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Animal and the Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.